Cruz Booed Off Stage At Christian Event

Last night Sen. Ted Cruz was booed off the stage at an event for Arab Christians, a group that Cruz and Tony Perkins daily accuse the president of abandoning.

On Wednesday night, the Texas GOP senator gave a keynote address at a gala sponsored by a group named In Defense of Christians. The organization’s objective is to focus public attention on the plight of persecuted Middle East Christian groups. Near the end of his speech, Senator Cruz said, “Christians have no greater ally than Israel.” At this point, some in the audience started to boo, according to eyewitness accounts and video of the incident. Cruz continued with, “Those who hate Israel hate America. Those who hate Jews hate Christians.” At that point, the boos got louder and things began to get out of hand. Eventually, Cruz decided he could not continue. He said, “If you will not stand with Israel and the Jews, then I will not stand with you. Thank you and God bless you.” He walked offstage to a decidedly mixed response. What happened here? The most likely explanation is that Palestinian Christians who feel oppressed by Israel as well as Muslim groups were expressing their negative opinion of Cruz’s words.

UPDATE: Cruz is predictably blaming the booing on anti-Semitism: "I came to this event tonight to help shine a light on the tragic persecution and slaughter of Christians by ISIS and Islamic radicals throughout the Middle East. American leaders have been far too silent as to this horrific evil. But bigotry and hatred have no place in this discussion. Anti-Semitism is a corrosive evil, and it reared its ugly head tonight."